Harvest Siblings
by YamiNoEve
Summary: The life of the siblings, Pete and Claire as they tried to save HG, sprites and become the best ranchers! Feel free to post your thoughts! :) Note: Pete is Jack... Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon...
1. BALDY

**Prologue – B~a~l~d~y~**

"Guts, hey, Guts! Rise and shine!" yelled Pete.

"Oh…! I've been up for hours! Hours hours hours!" exclaimed the abacus sprite.

"Yeah! Whatever! Can you send help out? It's such a pain to start working after those snowy days," requested Pete as he leaned at the counter.

"Oh! I'm afraid not. Not not not. You see, we're having our New Year holiday right now. Look at the Harvest Sprites. Look look look. They're all relaxing on this holiday. If you want help, you can ask your sister. Your sister your sister your sister."

Pete sighed heavily. "That's the problem, Guts. The only thing Claire knows is sleep!"

Meanwhile... In a certain house…

A beautiful woman (?) looked at a sleeping blonde with 9 little Harvest Sprites.

"Sigh… This kid just won't do any work whatsoever… I did promise her mom that she'll be a successful farmer, but she has no work ethic whatsoever… Sigh…" Harvest Goddess could not stop sighing. "Hmm… It's no use! Ha! I'll just tell her mom it's useless!"

Suddenly, a tremor occurred, though it could be felt by the 10. "Giving up already?!"

Harvest Goddess looked up. "That voice…! Harvest King!"

The Harvest King sounded angry. "You always give up before even trying!"

The goddess got pissed off. "It's not that I can do anything if someone doesn't wanna work!"

"It's your duty to figure something out! You've started loafing on your job in old age!"

"W-what?! Age has nothing to do with it, you big baldy!" yelled Harvest Goddess.

Another tremor occurred. "W-w-what?! B-baldy?! You really crossed the line! Take this!" Another tremor came and this time, Harvest Goddess had been turned into stone.

Wooly freaked out. "Hey! You're mean, Harvest King! Change her back!"

"Yeah! That's why people call you baldy!" Bran provoked the king.

"Baldy! B~a~l~d~y~!" And, yes, Kali just fuelled up the fire.

"Silence! You're all to reflect on your doings!"

Meanwhile, at Harvest Sprites Inc.

"What's all this shaking?" Jet pondered. "Waaa!" He vanished.

"J-jet!" Pete called out for the peddler sprite.

Roller came down from the incomplete second floor with extreme anxiety, which was a rare sight considering that he was one of the calmest Harvest Sprites. "B-b-boss! Oran and the others disappeared!"

"What what what?!" Guts stuttered.

"While they're working, they went 'zing!' and then they're gone! Even Hops, Jum and Tep vanished! Uwaaa!" Now, Roller had gone to another world.

"Blue! Where are you?!" Ceruleano looked around for Fishing Team Leader to have a glasses wrestling. He was about to ask Reese when the indigo sprite vanished. "Hmm… That's weird. And I'm having this strange feeling in my stomach."

"Leader! Where're our buddies?!" Owen came running to Ceruleano.

"I'm scared! Everyone vanished!" Eviran climbed onto the leader's shoulder.

"Hmm… Hmm…" And, tadaa! The three vanished in front of Pete and Guts.

Sacci appeared out of nowhere, half-naked. "Sob sob… Boss, we played hide-and-seek while having a bath. I can't find them!" He cried. A hole appeared under him and pulled him in there.

"My abacus my abacus my abacus!" Guts screamed while holding his precious abacus tightly.

"Hang in there, Guts!" Pete got hold on Guts until the hole was gone.

"You saved me! Thank you!"

"Hmm… Just… What happened? Everyone had gone away," Pete looked worried.

"I need to check on Mercury and the others! It'll be a big trouble if they're gone too! Trouble trouble trouble!" Guts went inside. Moments later, he came out with Mercury and informed Pete that the weather forecast sprite was the only one saved.

Bang!

Everyone turned to see the one who slammed the door.

"Witch Princess! Is it you who caused the Harvest Sprites to vanish?!" asked Guts.

"Why would I trouble myself like that?! I'm here to send this little one back!" scolded the witch as she threw Neptune to Pete. "That troublesome little thing came out of my pot while I was making my potion! What on earth are you doing in there?! Do you wanna taste my spell that badly?!"

Neptune trembled in fear. "P-p-p-please don't scold me, Witch Princess."

"Witch, I think you just rescued Neptune," said Pete.

"Hmph! Why would I want to rescue that little thing? Oh! Now I remember! Harvest King asked me to send Claire a letter!"

Pete, Guts, Mercury and Neptune cocked their heads to their left side while eyeing Witch Princess questioningly. Does Harvest King have a crush on Claire? The witch then left immediately.

"Hmm… I guess… I'll go home…"

The brown haired boy wearing a cap entered his house only to see Witch Princess having trouble waking Claire up. Shook her body, Claire shooed her away. Used spells, Claire somehow dodged them. Sometimes, they backfired. Most of the times, the spells ended up burning Witch Princess. Slapped her, Claire kicked her. Hit her using her broom, no response from Claire. The frustrated Witch Princess retorted to splash her with water using her spell as she was too lazy to grab a bucketful of water, but Pete was concerned that the spell might go wrong, so he stopped her attempt.

"Now now, Witch, I can't have you messing with my house anymore. The only way for you to wake her up is by a motherly call," said Pete.

"Why didn't you say so?!"


	2. Thomas

**Chapter 1 – Thomas**

"Why do I have to work?" asked Claire lazily as she put on her gloves, placed her tools and wore her watch.

"It's your fault all these mess happen. If you just worked, HG and the sprites won't be sent to the other world," scolded Pete gently. "Remember, for now, I need you to clear the field. I'll go to the dig site to get some money."

"This early?"

"We're ranchers. We wake up early every morning. Let's go."

As the siblings walked out of their small house, they were greeted by a bald man in red. "Good morning, young ranchers."

"Morning, baldy," said Claire spontaneously.

"Claire! It's rude to call an elderly like that!" scolded Pete.

"But, he IS a baldy. Take a look, Pete." As the younger of the siblings made that remark, she took off the man's top hat to expose his bald head.

"I know that, silly. But at least don't call a baldy 'baldy' right in his face."

"Ehemm…" The visitor got a little annoyed at the siblings' quarrel, so he snatched his hat back and put it on. "Let's not get carried away, shall we? I'm the mayor of Mineral Town, Thomas. The guy who was in charge of this valley's shipping moved out, so we decided to choose… a… rep… lace… Hmm…?"

"I said I'm not rude! I'm just telling the truth!" yelled Claire.

Pete sighed. "It IS the truth but can't you at least speak in a more polite manner? Jeez…"

The girl in overall rolled her eyes. "Are you that irritated with me? Coz if you are, I'll just leave this place to you. You'll be much happier without me around." She threatened to leave Forget-Me-Not Valley.

Thomas tried to get their attention. "Ehem… Well, we decided to choose a replacement through a rock-paper-scissors match. Err… You can say I lost it, so I have to be the shipper. Damn, I should've go with scissors…"

"Woof woof!"

Thomas turned to see a brown dog nodding at him while the siblings were still on their heated argument. 'A dog listened and agreed with me but humans ignored me? This is SO getting on my nerves.'

"Don't you dare step out of this valley!" shouted Pete who frightened Claire a little bit as her older brother never got that angry before.

"Sniff sniff…"

Pete started to feel guilty. "Oh Claire! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that."

"You're right, Pete. I'm just so selfish. I promise I'll work hard."

The boy smiled. "That's my good little sister. Hmm… Who are you? How long have you been standing there?"

Thomas startled. "You mean, me?"

"Of course you."

"I've been standing here and explained all those things about shipping and rock-paper-scissors but you didn't notice me?" asked Thomas in disbelief.

"Eh? So it's your voice mumbling during our conversation," stated Claire.

The bespectacled mayor fell into a state of depression. "I was ignored… Ignored… By youngsters…"

"Hmm… What is it that you wanna say?" asked Claire.

"Oh! Yes. Hmm… This ranch looks awful… There's nothing here. Are you sure you don't want a rather nice ranch in Mineral Town?" asked Thomas mockingly.

The siblings got angry. "Take back your words, baldy!" yelled Claire.

"While I don't quite like calling people names, but I think this is an exception. Don't mock our ranch, baldy! Take this!" exclaimed Pete as he tried to hammer Thomas.

The mayor dodged. "Too bad! You can't get me!" He provoked Pete, causing the latter to till him. "Too slow!" Another provocation and Pete tried to cut Thomas. "Ugh… This is nothing compared to the attack I took 100 years ago." Now, the young rancher chopped him. "Who do you think I am?! I'm Mayor Thomas of Mineral Town!"

"Why you…! Koro! Get him!" Claire ordered Koro the dog to bite Thomas.

"Ow! Ow! Ouch! Tell him to stop!"

"Not until you apologize."

"Grr… Ouch! Ok! Ok! Sorry!"

"Hehehe, come here Koro. Good boy, good boy." Claire petted her dog.

Thomas wiped dust off him before making his way to the shipping bin next to Takakura's house. Pete and Claire followed him. "This is the shipping bin. Just dump anything in it and I'll pick 'em up every 5 pm. I don't collect on holidays, though. After all, I need to participate in the festivities, no?" When he noticed that Claire was eyeing him with a deadly glare, he continued. "Umm, well, that's all, kids. I'll start today. Err… Good luck…" As he walked away, Pete called him.

"Hey Thomas!" The mayor acknowledged the call. "At least put on your pants…"

Thomas looked down to see him only wearing his boxer. Claire pointed towards a black cat which was scratching and biting a pair of red pants on the ground. It must've gotten the pants when Koro bit him.


	3. Fishing Pole and Daryl

**Chapter 2 – Fishing Pole and Daryl**

"There you are, Pete!"

Pete who was digging around jumped at Carter's exclamation. "Carter, don't surprise me like that."

"Sorry, buddy. I've been looking for you."

"Why?"

The archaeologist walked towards a wall near the corner of the dig site. "Actually, I believe there's a mine here behind this wall. If I have a hammer, I'll simply break the wall. Unfortunately, I have none. But you do have one, right?" Pete nodded. "Great! Now, help me here, will you? Hit this wall with all your might."

"Sure, no problem." After several hits, the wall crumbled.

"I knew it! There really is a mine here!" Carter remarked happily. "Oh! Feel free to dig, buddy! Thanks a bunch!" With that said, he left to refill his energy by sunbathing.

Pete resumed his work to find money, thinking that maybe he should enter the mine later when he had more free time. After he found a considerable amount of money, he made his way out of the dig site. Suddenly…

"Kooo kooo…!"

"What's that?" He re-entered the dig site and heard that strange sound again. "Hmm… It's coming from the mine. Might as well enter…" He entered and walked around to look for the source of the sound. Every time he got near, he fell down a hole. And the next one. And the next one. And the next one. Until he finally saw the owner of the voice, a black-coloured chick. "Why, hello there, cute little one! Whatcha doing down here? Come here. Claire sure will like you."

The chick went to Pete and pecked him. "Hey! What's that for?!" It pecked him again. "That's it! Take this!" The young one chopped the chick. "Eww… Claire's gonna hate it. Uh… Now I'm hungry. I guess Claire's not gonna cook for me today since she's busy. Haih… I wonder if granny Nina will do it for me. But what should I bring?" As Pete thought over it, he saw the axe in front of him. That reminded him of the chick. "Ugh… You gotta be kidding me…" But, what other choice Pete had? He took out his hoe to find for any herb to make it taste better. The only thing he found was black grass. "Better than yellow or orange grass. Let's head for Nina's…"

And so, Pete arrived at Galen's house. "Grandpa Galen, how are you?"

"It's you. I'm good as always. You want money? I ain't giving any! Ha!"

"Oh! Of course not! I'm kinda hungry. Can granny Nina cook for me?" asked Pete.

"Hmm… There she is." Nina entered the house with her walking stick. "So, where's the food?"

"Here…" Pete handed the dead chick and two black grasses to Nina.

"Oh my…" Nina was speechless.

"Are you nuts?! How are you supposed to eat that… that… that… thing?!" screamed Galen.

"I'm too hungry. I don't even know what to eat. I can't find any bamboo shoot," said Pete as he looked at the floor.

"Oh… Poor young Pete…" said the ladybug-hat old lady.

"Why didn't you ask Claire?" asked Galen.

"She's clearing the field right now…"

"Claire? She's working? Now that's something."

"Hmm hmm… Dear, Pete, why don't you sit over there? Maybe I can cook something out of these. Can you wait for a moment, Pete?" asked Nina.

"Sure thing, granny."

Galen sat down on his favourite couch next to Pete. "Oh! Pete, I remembered something. Will you help this old man and get a fishing pole over there?" The fierce-looking old man pointed towards a corner of his modest house. Pete immediately went to that place and took the tool. "It used to be my ancestor's. You ancestor used it too. Why don't you take it? I never used it. Besides, you seem to be a good angler."

"Are you sure, grandpa?"

"Sure thing, Pete. Better than having that thing rot there."

"Thanks a lot!"

"Don't mention it. Work hard and make you parents in heaven proud."

"I will."

Nina approached them with a plate of strange dish. "It turned out better than I expected, Pete. Dig in."

"Thanks, granny."

"Help yourself. It's a good thing you gave the fishing rod to Pete. He must be good with it. Good luck, Pete."

After Pete finished eating and thanking the old couple, he went to try out his new tool on the bridge. With that old rod, he caught a simple loach, but it was enough to get him excited. He fished over and over again, not noticing how time passed. By the time he realized how long he spent just for fishing, it was already 4.30 pm, so he rushed to his shipping bin and managed to dump everything in there.

"Thomas? You're early. I thought you're gonna be here at 5."

Thomas grinned. "It's good to be early, no?"

"Err… Yeah… I suppose. Well, see ya!"

Pete walked around the valley, passed the Inner Inn, then Blue Bar, after that Kassey's and Patrick's, until he felt something in his rucksack. "Oh my goodness! I left this poor little bluegill here! Thomas' gone. What should I do?"

"…Only one small fish and I can eat something tasty tonight… Weehee!"

Pete turned to Turtle Pond and saw Daryl trying to catch fish with his bare hand.

"With this Ultra Giant Fishing Net Hand Tonic, my hands will be as good as a net! Weehee! I can't wait to eat tonight!" His giant hand pulled him into the pond. "…Weehee!"

"Hey Daryl, whatcha up to?" asked Pete as he squatted at the opposite side of the pond.

"Shhh! I'm concentrating now!"

"If you want a fish, I have one."

"Weehee! A small fish!"

"Err… Yeah… Take it…"

"Uh-oh! Weehee! Thanks so much! Now I can eat sushi tonight! Weehee!" The mad scientist scurried back to his lab.

"Doesn't he even know that sushi can't be made with a SMALL fish…?"

Daryl wouldn't care! As long as he got what he wanted, he'd be elated and went 'Weehee!' until he wore himself out. Since Pete was kind and considerate, he decided to just give the scientist small fish every single day until he realized the fact that a sushi would fail when a small fish was used.


	4. Too Tired Two Sprites

**Chapter 3 – Too Tired Two Sprites**

Claire lethargically paced to Blue Bar and entered the bar before it was opened. She went to sit at the counter and dropped her head onto it. Griffin came out from the back room and approached the young girl who looked half-dead already.

"Hmmm… It's not open yet…"

The blonde lifted her head up and looked at the older man with a pair of droopy eyes. "Oh Griffin! I'm tired to death now. Can you let me catch a breather here?"

"Sure thing." He mixed up a drink and offered it to Claire. "Here, have a drink. You'll need it."

"Thanks, Griffin." She gulped her drink as if she had finally found an ABC stand at the middle of a desert after traveling by foot for days. Suddenly, the surrounding flashed and a small figure started to form in front of her. The figure was standing on her mug and posed like a certain blue-suited superhero with red mantle. "Who's there?"

"Hee hee hee. I'm baaaack! Uwaaa!" That little figure just slipped into her mug. "Claire! Help me! I don't wanna go to the other world!" He cried.

"Ah! Hang in there!" With her subtle hand, she reached out for the tiny one and managed to get him out of pinch. "There you go, cutie."

"Fuh… I'm saved. Thanks, Claire." He grabbed his purple hat which fell on the counter and put it on. "Ok, let me introduce myself. I'm Spirity, a member of Purple Healing Team! I'm so glad to make it back! Thank you so much, Claire! I'll help you however I can!"

"Hmm… Why isn't Griffin looking at you? I mean, it must be weird to see a small thing like you here…"

Spirity was taken aback by her word. "Thing?! I'm not thing! I'm a lively cute little Harvest Sprite!"

"Yeah, yeah… No need to get worked up. So…?" She asked for an answer.

"Oh! Well, actually, not all people can see us. In this valley, only you, Pete and Witch Princess can see us. Right now, Griffin only sees you relaxing here," said Spirity as he grinned broadly.

"I see… What should I do to save all of you?"

"Eh? I don't know. But I think I saw Souly near me, so maybe you can save him by drinking more. The others, you must figure out on your own. See ya!" Spirity used his magic and vanished.

"Wait! Jeez… Griffin, can I have more drinks? I'm super super tired," requested Claire while making her puppy eyes.

"It can't be helped. This is your first day working after all. But you must pay," said Griffin as he mixed another drink.

* * *

"…Are you THAT tired?" Marlin looked in disbelief. Kassey and Patrick had stopped drinking after seeing Claire literally gulped down 43 mugs. The flower on Gustafa's hat wilted thanks to that event.

"…M-more~"

Muffy hesitated. "I think y-you should call it a day, Claire. Y-you've had too much."

"…Mw-ooo-oreeeee~" Thud!

"S-somebody get Pete!" shouted Griffin.

"But, where's Pete?!" asked Marlin.

"I saw him walking Flora back to her tent," said Gustafa.

Kassey turned to face Gustafa. "Were you peeking on her, young'un?"

"I was wondering around the valley as usual…"

"Now's not the time. …I'll go get Pete…" Marlin left. He rushed to the waterfall area until he saw Pete coming out of his house. "Hey…"

Pete was quite surprised that Marlin greeted him. "Hey. What's up?"

"…Claire's drunk…"

The rancher cackled. "That's impossible! She's not a heavy drinker… I mean, it's true that she does crazy things every now and then, but, getting drunk? It's out of the question… Hahaha… Right?"

"...She's at the bar…"

Pete was dumbfounded and couldn't believe what he just heard. His baby sister went to the bar and now, she's drunk? He dragged his heavy feet to Griffin's and saw Claire lying on the floor. He strode towards her, grabbed her collar and started slapping her to consciousness, but to no avail. "Claire! Wake up you lazy girl! Claire! Snap out of it!"

"Err… Pete… I think it's useless…" said Muffy.

"Grr… Claire! Ugh… Sigh… I guess you're right, Muffy. Heave-ho! Let's go home, little sister… Hey Griffin, I'll come back to pay for her drinks," said Pete as he carried Claire back home. After he put her on bed, Pete went back to Blue Bar despite it's almost midnight. As he entered the bar, Muffy greeted him.

"Good evening, Pete!"

"Evening, Muffy. Where's Griffin?"

"He's too tired after mixing up so many drinks, so he told me to wait for you here," said Muffy.

"I see. Here's the payment…" Pete handed over an amount of money.

"Umm… It's more than enough. You can have one more drink if you insist on paying this much."

"In that case, get me one."

"Coming right up! Hehe, by the way, Pete, what kind of girl do you like?" asked Muffy.

"Why do you ask? Hmm… Pretty and cheerful one, maybe…"

"Is that so? I think many boys like that kind of girl. Hehe, here you go!" The girl handed Pete's drink.

As Pete drank, suddenly, a flash appeared and a purple-clothed Harvest Sprite was seen standing in front of him. "I'm saved? Yay!"

"Well, yeah. So, Claire was trying to save you?" asked Pete for confirmation.

"Yes. I was trying to stop her from the other world, but there's nothing I could do. I owe her. By the way, I'm Souly! Thank you so much for saving me! I'll help you however I can!" The cheerful sprite exclaimed.


	5. Claire's Not-So-Good Good Day

**Chapter 4 – Claire's Not-So-Good Good Day**

"Umm… Hmm…? Where am I?"

"Home…" answered Pete who was heating the strange chick Nina cooked yesterday. When he was done, he served it on two plates to share with Claire, but he made it clear in his mind as not to mention anything about the origin of the dish. "Come here. Let's have breakfast."

Claire got up from her bed and stretched for a while. She then went into the bathroom to clean up before sitting at the table with Pete. As she ate, she massaged her cheeks. "…Pete? I wonder why my cheeks felt like burning…"

Pete decided to keep his mouth shut or else, he's gonna have to swing his sickle to protect his precious cap.

* * *

"Morning, Claire," greeted Ruby.

"Morning, Ruby. What're you up to?"

"I'm gonna cook something for Karen. Can you help me out, honey?" asked the Inner Inn owner. Claire nodded. "Can you place some firewood in the stove outside and fetch some water from the well next to Griffin's? Thanks in advance."

The blonde left the Inner Inn kitchen to help Ruby. After all, Pete told her to check the valley for any Harvest Sprites while he did his works at the ranch in the morning and in the excavation site in the evening. As she approached the stove, the surrounding went 'zing' and Claire could see a Harvest Sprite at the stove.

"I'm back? Great! Thanks, Claire," said the Harvest Sprite.

"Yeah. No problem. Who are you?" asked Claire.

"The name's Tep. I promise I'll help you someday, Claire. Until then…" He's gone.

The girl farmer then went to the well to fetch some water for Ruby. While she pulled the bucket, she felt a familiar sensation. When the bucket was finally seen, she was quite in awe to see another sprite that looked like Tep in the bucket.

"Hmm… Hmm…? I'm back? Sweet!"

"Err… Yes, you're back. And you are…?"

He got out of the bucket. "The name's Hops. I promise I'll help you someday, Claire. Until then…"

Claire shook her head. The sprites would always disappear when she wanted to ask them more. She then went back to the Inner Inn to deliver the water to Ruby. After that, Ruby asked her to deliver a special tea to Romana at her mansion to which Claire complied. The young farmer departed for Romana's mansion and upon her arrival, she was welcomed by Sebastian. The butler told her that Romana was in her room, so Claire went in.

"Oh! Hello Claire! What brings you here?" asked old Romana.

"Ruby asked me to give this to you." Claire handed Romana the tea.

"I see! Thank you for the trouble. This tea is very good for your health. You should try once in a while, Claire," said Romana as she poured the tea into a cup.

Assuming the tea might taste horrible, Claire turned down the offer and excused herself. When she was leaving the mansion, she ran into Lumina who politely greeted her. The cute granddaughter of Romana was heading for the Goddess Pond as usual.

"…Abra Kadabra Abra Kadabra…"

"Hmm? What's that?" Claire looked around.

"…Abra Kadabra Abra Kadabra…"

"It's coming from here." The blonde went to a hut near Romana's mansion. "I think Pete told me not to come near this place. It's Witch Princess' place."

"Abra Kadabra Abra Kadabra…"

Out of curiousity, Claire entered the hut.

"Abra Kadabra Abra Kadabra. …Arghh! Why does the Harvest Goddess really like getting in my way?! I mean, yeah, sure every now and then I destroy crops, kill animals, break up sweet couples, and she'll always get mad for that! Does she think she's such a 'good girl'? Ugh…" Witch Princess walked back and forth near her big pot before she caught sight of Claire. She turned back to her pot as if nothing happened but then… BAM!

Claire rushed to Witch Princess and helped her get up after she fell from her steps.

"How long have you been standing there?! Did you heard every word of mine?!" asked the witch derogatorily. Claire nodded. "Then tell me. Does Harvest Goddess ever annoy you?"

"She really does!" Claire ranted on how the goddess used to yell at her for not working and now, she got her into this trouble just to save her from the other world.

"I see. I'm glad you think like that. We're gonna get along just fine, Claire. I'll get that Harvest Goddess when she comes back." With that said, Witch Princess went back to her pot while Claire went back to work.

Claire wandered around the valley such as going to the dig site and meeting Carter who talked about an accessory he wore around his neck. Claire, being not-so-polite Claire, said that was lame. Carter was disappointed of course, but then, he remembered something.

"If I'm not mistaken, there's another mine right here. Can you smash this wall?"

"…I'll give it a try." The blonde hit the wall with her hammer and DUSH! Here you go, Pete, Carter and Flora, another mine for you to explore.

"Thanks a bunch, Claire."

"Don't mention it…"

The blonde-haired farmer then walked to the beach. As she entered the area, she was called by Rock.

"Hey Claire! Seeing the sea? Well, just look at the sea. It's so damn beautiful, isn't it? Just like me. In fact, it's getting more beautiful just because I'm here. Am I not amazing? Hahaha. Hmm… Claire, you've gone silent. What's wrong? Are you that mesmerized by my look?" asked Rock.

Claire looked at him amazingly. "Wow! I… I… I'm totally…"

"Yes…?" Rock couldn't wait to hear her response.

"…disgusted… by your cockiness…"

"W-w-what did you just say?!" asked Rock furiously.

"I said, I'm totally disgusted by your cockiness. You've got any hearing problem?"

"H-h-hey! That's enough! You've got any problems with me? Just stop talking and get out of my sight! I'm not in the mood!"

Claire rolled her eyes and walked away. What is wrong with her day today?!

"Yuhuuu! Claire!"

She turned towards Turtle Pond and saw Gustafa waving his hand to her. Now what? She approached him.

"Hey! Wanna chat with me for a while?" asked Gustafa.

"Sure thing."

"Last night, you were…" As Gustafa was about to ask about the incident in Blue Bar, he suddenly recalled Pete coming to his house early in the morning with a dark expression. _'Don't you ever dare to mention anything about last night to Claire if you love your instruments…'_ He tried to ignore Pete's warning. "…really ama…" _'...if you love your instruments…' _"…zing…" _'…instruments…' _Gulp.

"Why are you stuttering? Are you ok?" asked Claire.

Right now, Gustafa was imagining a satanic Pete chopping his instruments with his axe as he laughed maniacally. "Err… I mean… Yesterday, it's amazing to see you drink… I mean, bring yourself to… to… work! Yes. Work…" Remember, Gustafa, not a word about last night.

"Why, thank you," thanked Claire gently.

"Ehem… I do everything I love with pride, including drinking… I mean, playing music. How about you? Do you take pride in what you do?"

"You mean farming? Hahaha… I'm not sure. But I'm very proud to have Pete as my brother. Despite my irritating attitude, he still puts up with me and never leaves me. So, I guess I'm proud to be his sister," said Claire as she smiled broadly.

"Is that so? I see that you haven't come to love farming."

"Who knows that someday I'll love it more than Pete does, right?"

"You're probably right. Ha! Now I feel like singing another song! Let's do things with pride, shall we, Claire?" asked Gustafa as he started to play his guitar.

"Yes, Gustafa. Umm… It's getting late. I should get back. Pete might be hungry. See ya!"

Claire left for home to fix something up. Although their kitchen was not that fascinating, she could still prepare something with whatever she had in her rucksack. Fridge. Claire made it clear in her mind to order a fridge through TV Shopping until it occurred to her that Venus was still missing. So, for now, she must make sure that the siblings could survive with just riceballs, breads, flour and grape juice from Karen's. Luckily, it's spring.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Pete. Here's your Bamboo Rice," said Claire.

"Thanks!" Pete grinned and consumed it. "You know what, Claire? If it's not for your cooking despite this deplorable house, I would've left."

Claire eyed him dangerously. "What're you implying?"

"Err… Well… If you can't cook, err… I'll have to eat at Ruby's… And… it's not always free… So, err… I won't be at home often… Yes… Not often…"

"Hmph!"

"Aww! Are you sulking, little sister? How cute!" teased Pete.

Claire turned around, not facing Pete anymore. "…Hey Pete, do you know that a hungry woman is an angry woman? I'm still hungry, so you better watch it."

"See? Your cooking's just too good that you yourself felt it's not enough. If you're not my sister, I would've married you."

"Stop it, Pete!"

"Are you that angry? Don't get mad, Claire. I was just joking. No offense. Tomorrow, I'm going to the mine. Flora said there're ores in there, so we might get better tools. Carter told me you smashed the second mine. I guess I'll go there too. So, prepare lunch for me, will you?"

"Sure thing." Claire's still facing away. She got up. "I'm going out for a while."

Pete had already lied on his bed. "Yeah, yeah. Be careful. And don't do anything stupid."

Claire wandered in the valley at that chilly and calm night. She didn't know what to do. Perhaps find more sprites? Yeah. That's a good decision. Right now, she NEEDS Venus. Since Venus' in charge with TV Shopping Network, maybe he's at Karen's supermarket. She decided to leave Forget-Me-Not Valley for a while until the surrounding went 'zing!' and a Harvest Sprite appeared.

"Wee! I'm baaack!"

"…Are you sure you should be yelling at the middle of the night?" asked Claire.

"Why not? I'm back! Hehehe. I'm Jackie and my duty is to prevent you from leaving this valley," said Jackie as he placed his little hands on his small waist.

"But, why? I need to fine Venus!"

"All sprites can be found in this valley including Venus. Let me give you a clue, Claire. Save a specific amount of sprites, and you might just rescue Earth."

"Earth?"

"He'll help you to find the labour sprites."

"BUT I WANT VENUS!"

"Err… I guess you have to do some shopping. I think all sprites can be rescued by doing something they're associated with. For instance, I'm in charge for not letting you leave, so if you try to leave, I'll have to come back."

"So, if I want to rescue the labour sprites, I need to do all those works?" Claire's eyes widened.

"Yes!" Jackie exclaimed cheerfully while smiling cheekily. As he opened his eyes, he was totally surprised to see Claire was ready to hammer him. "Waaaah!"

Before Claire could hit Jackie, the Harvest Sprite took off. "You sneaky little Harvest Sprite…" She then thought maybe it's a good idea if she checked Romana's fountain, so she headed there.

As she climbed up the staircase leading to Romana's mansion and reached the fountain, she saw a silver-haired man coming out of the mansion. He stood there for a while at the opposite side of the fountain and gazed at Claire. Their eyes met. The mysterious man then walked towards her and stood in front of her.

"Hehe, hello beautiful. Walking alone at night?" Claire was quiet.

Suddenly, Lumina came out. "Hey! You're that thief that warns his victims ahead of time!"

Claire backed away from the thief. "Hehe. Looks like I don't have much time. Gotta jet." He got down the stairs. "By the way, I'm Phantom Skye. I have a feeling that we'll meet again. It's in the stars."

Lumina went near Claire. "You're not getting away!"

"Hehe, don't let such raw anger spoil your beauty."

Lumina blushed. "What a smooth talker! Phantom Skye…" As Skye made his escape, Lumina chased him but she returned moments later. "Ph-phantom Skye got away!"

Claire was speechless. After Lumina went back into the mansion, Claire investigated the fountain and finally rescued Jum. She then decided to go home, but not before investigating the pond. As she looked closer, she saw something in there. Closer and closer and closer and… SPLASH! She fell right into the pond. Somehow, she felt as if someone was pulling her out.

"…Ugh! You're… heavy…!"

Claire managed to get out of the pond and sat on the ground for a while. "Thanks, Pete…"

"Pete? I'm not Pete…"

The rancher turned around to see a Harvest Sprite. "Did you help me?"

"Yeah. I just helped you right after you saved me. I'm Karaf of the Watering Team. Thanks for saving me. I'll help you however I can!" He vanished.

What a day! Time to get some sleep!


	6. Medical Day

**Chapter 5 – Medical Day**

"Pete, are you okay?" asked Claire worriedly.

"I'm fine… I'll go to work later, so don't worry… Cough, cough…" Pete tried to reassure his sister that he's doing good, but it ended up worrying Claire more.

"You must take a day off, Pete. I'll watch over you."

Pete shook his head. "No… We need to work… You can go first… I'll catch up with you later…"

Claire knew that her persistent brother would never let anything get in his way when he's determined to do something, so she had to comply. "Very well. But, don't overdo it, okay?" The blonde exited the house.

While watering her crops, she thought for a way to help Pete feel better. Then, it occurred to her that today should be the day Trent and Elli came, so she decided to ask for their help. After she finished her work on the field, she hurried to Hardy's clinic to meet them.

"Oh, hello there, Claire," greeted Hardy.

"Hey, Hardy, Trent and Elli."

"Are you working hard? Take it easy, okay?" advised Trent.

"Well, I did take it easy, but not Pete…" stated Claire.

"What happened?" asked Elli.

"Err… how can I say it? Protective older brother overworked himself and now, he's out cold. Can't even get off his bed. I wanna take care of him, but work's waiting."

"Oh dear… That's awful!" said Elli.

"I know right? I'm afraid Pete's gonna force himself to work, so I hope someone can watch over him for me…"

Elli got up. "I'll do it."

Trent turned to her. "Are you sure, Elli?"

"Yes, Dr. Trent. Besides, it's a good chance to improve myself, isn't it, Dr. Hardy?" asked Elli to Hardy for confirmation.

Hardy nodded. "Yeah. You must take chances, no? If you need any help, just send for us."

"Sure. I'll be off now," said Elli.

"Thanks, Elli. I owe you one," said Claire.

"No big deal."

* * *

Pete opened his eyes. "…Ugh… Claire, whatcha doing here? You should be working…"

"It's Elli."

"Elli? Why're you here?"

"Claire told me you overworked yourself. You know, it's bad for your body if you work too hard. I'll have to take care of you until you're feeling better, so you must be a good, obedient patient, okay?" asked Elli.

"…Fine. Thanks, Elli…"

Meanwhile, Claire went to the excavation site to dig up some money and find some ores. Then, she went to gather some bamboo shoots, flowers and grasses for some extra money.

"…Murrey…?

Claire turned behind her. "What's wrong, Murrey?"

"Murrey hungry."

"You're hungry? Hmm… I don't have much food," said Claire as she rummaged her rucksack.

Murrey pointed to the river.

"You want a fish? Very well. Come here."

The two went to sit at the bridge as Claire tried to catch a fish for poor, hungry Murrey. After a while, she got one.

"Here you go, Murrey."

Just as Murrey tried to take the fish, an aggressive pair of hands snatched it from Claire. The farmer jumped a little while Murrey looked angry.

"Weehee! Another fish!"

"That's Murrey's food!" yelled Murrey.

"…D'OH! It's mine! I got it first!" shouted Daryl the scientist.

"Claire got it for Murrey!" He snatched the fish.

"Give me that!" Daryl took it away.

"It's Murrey's!"

"It's mine!"

"Murrey's!"

"Mine!"

Claire got in between them. "Stop it! Daryl, it's Murrey's fish, so you better give it back."

"No! I got it first! Weehee!" yelled Daryl as he dashed away.

"Come back here you deranged scientist!" Using her fishing pole, Claire 'fished' for Daryl and with Murrey's help, they managed to 'pull Daryl up'. "Now, you're gonna give the fish back to Murrey."

"Never! …Ouch! My eyebrow!" Daryl held his left eyebrow to protect it from getting pulled off again.

"Well?"

"I won't give it back!"

"I see." Being a female, Claire twisted Daryl's ear, causing the scientist to cry like a baby. "Will you give it back?"

"…No- Owww! Okay! Okay! I'll give it back! Now, let me go!" shouted Daryl as he threw the fish onto the ground.

"Yeah! Murrey's food! Thanks, Claire!" Murrey took off.

"Good boy…" Claire patted Daryl's head before leaving.

As Daryl walked away, he rubbed his ear. "I need to eat my medicine. That woman almost ripped off my ear. Weehee…! No delicious fish tonight from Leia… D'OH! I have Ultra Giant Fishing Net Hand Tonic! Weehee!"

* * *

"Let's have a rest here…" Claire leaned against the Sprite Company Tree to catch a breather.

"Hey there, Claire."

The blonde looked up to see the raven-haired Trent standing in front of her, so she got up. "Hey, Dr. Trent."

"You're here for a rest?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. This place's so great. Everyone comes here to relax and chat, and as a result, everyone in this valley is healthy. On the other hand…"

"…On the other hand…?"

"Not all people in this world are that healthy. Some suffer from incurable disease and some are physically handicapped. As a doctor, I feel that it's my responsibility to cure them and I wish that someday I can do it."

"That's so noble of you, Dr. Trent. I'm sure you can do it," complimented Claire.

"No, it's nothing, really. I'm sure every doctor in this world shares the same thought. Umm, by the way, have you been gathering wild grasses?" asked Trent.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's good to gather grasses, but be careful with what you eat. Come here, I'll show you." They went to a field near the Goddess Pond. "In spring, you can find two types of grasses, orange grass and yellow grass. Orange grass won't affect you, but don't eat yellow grass. It'll make you feel fatigued. But, it doesn't mean that it won't benefit you. You'll eventually find a good use of it," explained Trent.

"I see. Thanks for telling me this, doc. This'll really help me," said Claire, smiling.

"Don't mention it. Glad I can be at service."

"I should get back to work."

"Good luck, Claire. Take care of your health," said Trent.

Claire giggled. "I will. You should take care too, doc." As she left the area, she waved to the doctor. Doctors are nice, aren't they?

* * *

author's note: I wanna introduce at least all bachelors and bachelorettes through their black heart events, although some are modified to suit the story.

A quick checklist: Directly introduced are Griffin, Muffy, Witch Princess, Carter, Rock, Gustafa, Skye, Elli and Trent. Implied are Karen, Celia and Flora. Up next will be Lumina, Gray, Nami and Marlin. Look forward to it :)


	7. Family Tie

**Chapter 6 – Family Tie**

It was very early when Pete decided to visit Romana as he heard from Claire about a thief whom she met there. He wanted to ask old Romana about any information about him to help them catch the thief. As he entered the mansion…

"I won't take it, Lumina!" yelled Romana.

"Just take it, grandma!" scolded Lumina.

Pete approached them just as Sebastian went to him. "Greetings, Mr. Pete. If it's not a burden to you, may I ask you a favour? Ms. Romana and Ms. Lumina are having an argument and I was not able to do anything. May I ask for your help?" asked Sebastian politely.

"Sure thing."

Just as Pete tried to get near them, both of them yelled. "We don't need your help!" He stopped right on his track and looked very troubled.

Upon realizing Pete's concern, Lumina apologized. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Pete. Maybe Pete can solve this problem, grandma."

"You might be right," said Romana.

"So, what's the problem?" asked Pete.

"Actually, I'm getting worried about grandma's health, so I made her a present. When I gave her the present, everyone was happy, until she opened the gift. She did not like it," said Lumina.

"She gave me a belly warmer!" yelled Romana.

"I spent so much time making it for you…"

"Only old people use belly warmer! I'm not old!"

Lumina looked as if she's gonna explode, but she held back. "So, Pete, whose fault is this?"

Pete stared at the three for a while before making his mind up. "…Sebastian. It's his fault…"

Romana and Lumina were both shocked but Sebastian chuckled. "Haha, you might be right. I'm in the wrong."

"…I guess, we'll just being silly, right, grandma?" asked Lumina.

"You're right. I'm sorry for being rude and… Thank you for the belly warmer, Lumina," said Romana.

Pete was grateful that everything was solved. He then proceeded to ask them about the thief, but they're clueless, so they're not much of help. As he exited the mansion, he recalled his fight with Claire last night. He scolded Claire for having Elli look after him and treating him like a little child. He claimed that he could take care of himself. Claire told him that she's only worried about him and she didn't want bad things to happen to him while she's away. His stupid pride had hurt Claire. He remembered the moment he regretted his harsh words, it was too late. As he leant against Claire's door, he heard her choked sobs.

* * *

Claire entered the excavation site, but Carter and Flora were not there.

"Hey Claire…"

She saw Gray. "Hey Gray. Where're Carter and Flora?"

"They're in the mine. You're here to dig?"

"Emm… Yeah… Not really…" Claire scratched her head.

Gray laughed. "Hey, what's wrong? You seem like you can't make a decision right now. Are you okay?" He said as he held her shoulders in concern.

Claire looked away, blushing slightly. "I'm fine. Maybe I'm just a little tired."

"I see." The Uma-printed-cap-wearing boy let go of Claire. "My grandpa presses me to work every day and it's hard on me, seriously. It's a very tough work, I mean, right? I mean, farming." Claire nodded. "Blacksmithing is tough too. But I won't give up 'cos grandpa used to have his hard times too. So, why not me? I should feel the same pain he underwent to be the best blacksmith ever. If I wanna be his successor, I need to undergo his every training. You seem to be able to go through you difficulties, so I guess, I can do it to, right?" Again, Claire nodded. "Ah… Sorry… I talked too much."

"No no no… It's okay. I mean, it's great to be able to talk to you. You know, you're a good example to me, apart from Pete. I should work harder to keep up with you guys."

Both of them laughed when Carter and Flora came out of the mine. Since the two eyed Gray and Claire cheekily, the girl farmer decided to continue her work and left.

Claire walked around the valley and decided to make a quick stop at the Inner Inn. As she entered the inn, nobody was there so she rang the bell enough times to annoy a certain red-haired girl.

"Hey! I'm busy cooking here!" Yelled Nami who came out of the kitchen.

"Where's Ruby?"

"She's got something to do. Hey, I can't chat with you too long. What is it do you want?"

"I wanna stay here…" said Claire with a straight face.

"Ffhhstay here…?!" Nami burst into laughter. "Ehem… You're joking right? You're already staying in the valley!" She smiled. "Ha! That truly made my day, Claire. Come in. Maybe I can fix you something."

"Thanks." The girls walked into the kitchen. "You don't mind watching over the inn?" asked Claire.

"Nope. I'm indebted to Ruby for having me here, so helping her is some sort of a way for me to repay her, no matter how small it is. Though, guests don't appear so often. Here, have a drink."

"Thanks."

The door opened and revealed Ruby carrying a bag of groceries. "I'm back. Hey there, Claire!"

"Yo! Ruby!"

"Hmm… Why are you looking upset?" asked Ruby.

"Upset? No I'm not!" Claire tried to deny it, but, her expression and her eyes looking away obviously told Ruby otherwise. What a pathetic liar…

"I thought she looks upset too, so I invited her inside to talk about it," said Nami. "She even said she wanna stay here!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Really?! Oh dear… What happened?"

* * *

Let's recall what happened last night…

"I'm home!" The blonde farmer went to Pete's bed straight away. "Hey big brother! Are you getting better?"

"…" He looked pissed off.

"What's wrong? Did Elli give you the wrong medicine? You're not feeling any better?" asked Claire innocently.

"…I'm burning…" Pete clenched the mattress, but Claire did not notice it.

"Burning? Let me feel…" She put her hand on Pete's forehead.

"I'm burning… with RAGE!" The boy yelled at Claire's face as he slapped her hand away. The girl's face went bloodless. "Why did you send Elli to take care of me?! Why did you act as if I can't take care of myself?! Why are you treating me like a child?! I'm not a little kid that needs to be pampered by YOU!" Pete shouted as he pointed his index finger towards Claire.

"B-B-But, I'm worried… about you…" Claire cowered in fear.

"I don't care, Claire! I don't need your concern! I'm old enough to take care of myself! I don't need you to babysit me! You should look after yourself! You can't even solve your own problems!"

"…I don't want… anything bad… happen to you, Pete…" Claire's body was shaking slightly, as well as her voice.

"I don't need your concern, Claire! Nothing bad will happen to me if you just stay out of MY business!"

The younger one fought the urge to cry. "If that's what you want, then… I'll leave!" She ran to her room and locked herself in there. _Stupid Pete… Stupid! Idiot! I'm just trying to be a good little sister and this is how you repay me! Stupid Pete! _As she sat on the floor, leaning against the door, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. She buried her face in her arms and wept.

* * *

"I don't even know what to say…" commented Nami.

"That's terrible. You both seem to fight really badly last night." Ruby put her hands on both Claire's shoulders. "…However, that what siblings do, Claire…" She said motherly.

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes, fighting is a way to enhance love, you know. I'm sure Pete feels bad about last night. When that feeling comes, you become more appreciative to one another. You become more attached to one another and more loving to one another. No fighting, no argument, no quarrel, makes a relationship dull. Sometimes, it can limit your love because you never try to cross the border. You only play safe and never try something new. Fighting with your sibling means, you cross the border and get out of the safe zone to explore the depth of your relationship. As you fight, you'll instil the feelings of mutual understanding and affection to the other. Pete… He wants you to understand that he doesn't want to be babysat. And Claire… You want him to understand that you're concerned about him, right?" Claire nodded. "By the time both of you recall and feel bad about the fight, both of you will understand each other and come to respect your respective desires more."

"But, why must he yell at me? Why must he throw all those words to me?"

"Men… They have pride," said Nami.

"Pride…?"

"Yes. Pride. All of us have our own pride. You do have your pride, right, Claire?" asked Ruby.

"Yes. My pride is… my brother… He's the most important person in my life." Claire got up. "I… I gotta go. I really have to go. Umm… Bye, and thanks, Ruby, Nami."

Ruby and Nami smiled.

* * *

It started pouring. Pete who was on his way home decided to stop by at Vesta's while waiting for the rain to stop.

"…Hey, it's you."

"Marlin, sorry for entering just like that. It's raining all of sudden," said Pete as he took of his cap.

"…No problem."

"Where's Vesta?"

"…Upstairs. Celia's not feeling well."

"I see… So, care to talk?" asked Pete, sitting on a chair at the table.

"…I don't wanna talk."

"Okay…" They just sat there, silently. Marlin gazed at the kitchen, Pete gazed at the raindrops, until Vesta came.

"Oh, hello Pete! I didn't know you came!" greeted the loud farmer.

"It's raining out there, so I decided to make a stop. How's Celia?"

"She's just tired. How's Claire?" Vesta got herself seated next to Marlin.

At that question, Pete stuttered. "Umm… Well… You see… Claire… Umm… I… Umm… She's… She's fine… I think…?"

"Why are you stuttering, boy?"

Pete patted his head. "Stuttering? No I'm not!" Yes, he looked away.

"…What's up?" asked Marlin.

"Did something happen?" asked Vesta, serious.

Pete sighed. "We fought and I hurt her feelings."

"Ah… Men's pride…!" Vesta smirked as she glanced at Marlin.

"…What?"

"Nothing." She laughed. "You must've said something like, 'I can take care of myself,' am I right?"

"You really are right, Vesta. What should I do? She said she's leaving the house! Damn my stupid pride!"

"Ahah! Pete, why don't you tell her your true feelings?"

"My true feelings?"

"Yeah. You must be carried away by emotions that time, so you could barely think straight," said Vesta.

"…Yeah… Sort you feelings first…" said Marlin.

Pete thought over the last night incident. That moment, he was ashamed, because Elli looked after him. She was a little bit clumsy and the way she treated him was… motherly. She made him feel like a small kid, and it's not a good feeling. He's used to Claire's treatment, bittersweet. She understood him, even if he never expressed his feelings openly, she understood him. So, when Claire made Elli take care of him, he could not tolerate it considering that Claire could've just left her work and cared for him by herself. After all, she dumped work for years before HG vanished, so why couldn't she dump a day of work for her dear brother? When he yelled at her, his train of thoughts brought him to Elli and sometimes, it shifted to Claire. That's it! He's not angry because Claire was worried about him and sent Elli to watch over him, but he's upset because Claire did not take care of him!

"I'm going home!" exclaimed Pete. "See ya!"

Marlin looked puzzled, but Vesta put up her hands and rested her chin on them. "That boy sure gets it fast, just like the little girl."

* * *

"Claire!" Pete saw Claire heading towards the ranch.

The young girl who was standing in front of the path leading to their home smiled and dashed towards the running boy. "Pete! I've been looking all over the place for you!"

They reached each other physically and emotionally, and they hugged in the rain.

"Claire, I…"

"Shh… No need for words, big brother. No need for words…"

* * *

an: I wanna make it more sentimental, but I just can't go further. T.T

Pretty long chapter. Next chapter should be shorter!


	8. Ann and Cliff

**Chapter 7 – Ann and Cliff**

"Good morning, world!"

"WAHHH!" Thud! Splash!

The orange-pigtailed girl who just came down from her room upstairs freaked out as she saw a blonde fell at the entrance and her now empty bucket of water landed on her head.

"Ow!"

She rushed to the girl. "Are you okay? How can you fall like that?"

The blonde rubbed her head. "I was surprised by a loud voice just now."

"Oh! That's me! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm Ann from Mineral Town." Ann reached out to her 'victim's' hand to pull her up to which the girl took, but her hand slipped as it was wet, so she fell again. Ann tried to catch her but she ended up falling too. They looked at each other for a while and burst into laughter before getting up.

"It doesn't hurt at all, isn't it?" asked Ann.

"Haha… I'm Claire. You're from Mineral Town? No wonder you look unfamiliar. If you're from the town, you must know Trent, Gray and Elli, right?"

"Yup, I know 'em. Gray's staying in our inn."

"You own an inn?"

"Yup. My dad and I. I'm here to learn. Hey, I'm about to go to the kitchen. Mind joining me?" asked Ann.

"Sure thing."

Both of them went into the kitchen and sat at the table. Ann asked Ruby if she could help her with anything, but the older woman insisted that Ann should relax and remain as a guest.

"It's okay, Ruby. Let her help you," said Claire.

"Yeah. I wanna help you. I wanna learn to be as good as you and run the inn better. Pleeeeeeeeease~!" Ann made her puppy eyes.

"Oh dear… It can't be helped. But, make sure you don't trouble yourself too much and take it easy, okay?" Ruby finally gave in.

"Yay!"

"Hahaha… First of all, can you help me fetch some water?" asked Ruby.

Claire cackled. "Water? I fetched some for you already."

"You did? Where is it? Funny… I can't seem to find it. Where did you put it?" The inn-keeper looked around.

"I put it at the usual place, near the stove, right… there… Huh?" At the speed of light, Claire got up and went to the stove. "I put it here!" She looked under the stove, on the stove, in the stove, behind the stove, everywhere. She opened the pot, empty. She opened the fridge, empty. "Ruby, I put it right here!"

Ruby calmed her down. "Relax, dear. Wait… Why is your hair soaking wet?"

"My hair… what?" Claire touched her hair. "Oh my HG!"

"The front door!" Ann shouted. "You fa-!"

Claire covered Ann's mouth. "She meant, I forgot I left it at the front door, when… I… met her! I'll go get it for you now, Ruby!"

"Don't trouble yourself, dear. Why don't you go upstairs and dry your hair? There's a hair dryer in the guest room. I'll get the water myself." Ruby was about to open the door when Claire popped up in front of her and closed the door with her body. "Claire…"

"Ruby, you should stay here and… prepare breakfast…"

"How am I going to prepare it without water?"

"You can… um… start with… peeling onions, potatoes… Err… Ahah! Ann needs your help! She wants to learn to make a cheese fondue!"

Ruby eyed Ann worriedly. "Ann, are you feeling ill? You're a master at making cheese fondue, am I right?"

Ann giggled. "Don't compliment me like that!" She blushed while rubbing her head.

"No! Not cheese fondue! I mean… Chocolate fondue!" exclaimed Claire.

Ruby glared at Ann. "Ann, you can cook the most wonderful dish. How can you not make a simple chocolate fondue?"

Ann freaked out. "I'm not! I can make chocolate fondue!" She yelled.

"No! I mean… Err… Chocolate… cake…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Claire. Now, let me out." Ruby tried to open the door, but Claire just won't let her do it.

Claire winked at Ann, asking for help. Suddenly, a lightbulb appeared above Ann's head. "Ruby, Claire's trying to tell you that I want you to teach me to make a chocolate zabaglione cake. She forgot the zabaglione part. Umm… Can you teach me?" Ann was sure that the complex dish could buy Claire enough time to get the water.

"Sure thing, sweetie. After I get the water."

"N-n-n-n-n-no! Now! Claire can get the water!"

Ruby looked at Claire and the blonde nodded. She sighed and permitted Claire to do it. The farmer rushed outside and at the speed of light, she grabbed the bucket and ran to the well next to Blue Bar. In a blink of an eye, she delivered the water to Ruby. Whew…

* * *

Pete paced to Inner Inn and entered the kitchen. "Hey Ruby! I'm hungry! Can I eat something?"

"Ah!"

"Sorry! Did I startle you?" asked Pete.

"Um… Yeah…"

"I reckon you're a visitor. Are you from Mineral Town?"

"Yeah. I'm Cliff," said the guy with long hair.

They shook hands. "I'm Pete, a rancher. Nice to meet you. Have you met my sister, Claire? She's a loud girl, but she's sweet in the inside."

"Not yet. But Ann mentioned about meeting an interesting blonde this morning."

"Ann?"

"Umm… My…" Cliff blushed.

"Cliff's dear wife. Hello there, Pete," answered Ruby from behind. She just entered the kitchen.

Pete jumped in shock and excitement. "Your wife?! Wow! I bet she must be so cute!" Suddenly, he went limp and lied on the floor. "Wuby, I'm hungwy!"

Ruby giggled. "Cliff dear, will you help Pete up while I fix something up? Thank you so much."

Cliff pulled Pete up and both of them sat at the table. He then looked away.

"Hey, let's talk."

"You mean… me?" The visitor pointed to himself and the rancher nodded. "I'm not… so good… at chatting…"

"But Ann told me you're good now, Cliff," Ruby interrupted.

"But, I don't really know Pete." He looked down.

"Now's the time to get to know each other, dear."

"So, Cliff, how's married life?" asked Pete all of sudden.

"Err… Not so bad… It's so much fun when Ann's around. How about you? Do you enjoy life at the ranch? Do you feel lonely?"

"Easy, man. One at a time. Hahaha… I've enjoyed ranching since the first time I did it. Maybe it's because of my heritage. I hope Claire will come to love it too someday." Pete smiled.

"I see… Do you feel lonely? I mean, sure Claire's there but, do you ever think of having a soulmate?"

"A soulmate huh? I guess I do feel lonely sometimes. I was thinking about going after Karen, but after she told me about her crush on her childhood friend, I gave up."

"Karen the supermarket girl?" asked Cliff for confirmation. Pete nodded.

"See? You can chat after all, Cliff. Here you go, Pete. Dig in," said Ruby as she served a plate of fried noodles to Pete.

"Thanks Ruby!" exclaimed Pete.

Cliff got up. "Well then, I'm going to the waterfall. I think Ann's there. It was nice to talk to you, Pete. See ya!"

"Zthee ya! _(see ya!)_"


	9. Enter Leia the Mermaid

**Chapter 8 – Enter Leia the Mermaid**

"D'OH! I ran out of Ultra Giant Fishing Net Hand Tonic! I need fish SO badly!" Daryl rummaged his shelf to find anything that he could use to make an instant tonic so that he could catch some fish. "What's this? Weehee! It's my Special Super Fishing Rod!" The mad scientist made his way to the Turtle Pond and began fishing with his dusty, rusty iron fishing rod that used a steel worm-like thing as bait.

Claire who was on her way to the beach noticed Daryl fishing, so she called for him. " !"

Daryl jumped in surprise and dropped his fishing rod in the pond. As it was made of iron, it sank instantly… just when a fish just bit the bait. He was freaking mad right now. "Why did you yell?! Now that fish got away! You loud girl! What a nuisance! You disturbed my concentration!"

Claire was not offended at all. She only giggled while protecting her face from the scientist's spits. "Ha… Did I catch you that off-guard, Daryl? My bad. Let me get you another one."

"Hmph! Nothing can compare to my Special Super Fishing Rod."

As soon as Claire threw the bait, a fish immediately bit it. "Well, that's fast. I bet if you use your Scrumptiously Sad Sinking Stick, you don't even have to throw the bait. Just stand there and the fish will jump out, right, Daryl?"

"Special Super Fishing Rod!"

"Yeah… Station Soup Old Fishing Block…"

"D'OH! Special Super Fishing Rod!"

"Special Sue per Fishing Cod?"

"Special Super Fishing Rod!" Daryl's ears had gone red.

The blonde laughed heartily. "I'm joking, Daryl. My ears are still in a perfect shape, okay? By the way, I caught a silver carp. A perfect fish for a perfect sushi, no?" She handed over the fish.

Daryl jumped in joy. "Weehee! Leia knows exactly what she needs to do!" He snatched the fish and dashed to his laboratory, completely forgetting the existence of a thing once known as the Special Super Fishing Rod. Well, just let it rest in pond. RIP.

* * *

Claire entered the lab. "Hey Daryl."

"Oh! Hey Claire. What do you want?" asked Daryl.

"I was wondering about this Leia person you kept mentioning every time you get a fish."

He motioned towards the door leading to the basement, indicating that she might find the answer there, as he was too busy with his research. The farmer went to the basement.

"Who's there?! Daryl?!"

The blonde was surprised to hear a woman's voice. A beautiful voice. It must be from a beautiful lady. She went deeper until she saw a woman in a bathtub. As the woman saw her, she dived into the tub and accidentally revealed her lower part of the body. Claire gaped for a while until Daryl came and pushed her jaw up to shut her mouth.

"What's there to be surprised? It's just a mermaid…" said Daryl.

"JUST a mermaid?!" Claire half-shouted.

"Umm… Daryl, who's that?" asked the mermaid who went out of her hiding.

"Just Claire." He went to a bookshelf to grab a book and went upstairs again.

Claire approached the bathtub. "Hello, I'm Claire." How unusual for Claire to be so polite.

The green-haired mermaid was intimidated at first, but she braced herself and spoke. "I'm Leia."

"So… You really are a mermaid… What are you doing here?"

"I was injured and washed ashore. Daryl found me and took me here. Well, he saved me, to be exact."

Claire raised her eyebrow. "He did? Wow. That's so kind of him."

"Right? I'm staying here to cook for him to repay him," said Leia as she smiled.

"You're so sweet, Leia. I bet you haven't met my brother, Pete."

"Pete? Daryl mentioned him once. I didn't know you're siblings. I'm sure you both are nice. Since you're Daryl's friend, you're my friend too, right?"

"Yeah. We're friends!"

* * *

The capped farmer bid goodbye to Lumina and the black-haired novelist, Mary, who happened to be Lumina's best friend as he walked out of the mansion.

"Pete!"

Pete who just exited Romana's mansion was surprised to see Claire. "What's up?"

The sister pulled Pete's hand and dragged him with her. "Come on, Pete! You're not gonna believe what I saw today!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"What is it, little sister?"

"Just come with me!" They arrived at Daryl's lab and entered it. Suddenly…

"NOW I CAN FINALLY UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES OF NATURE!"

Both siblings were startled. "Oh no! What is Daryl doing to Leia?! Come on, Pete! To the basement!"

"Wait… What?!" Nonetheless, he complied.

They went downstairs to see Daryl standing in front of the bathtub. Claire approached him angrily. "Daryl! What are you doing to Leia?!"

"Weehee? What do you mean?" asked Daryl.

"Are you experimenting on her?!" asked Claire derogatorily.

"You're thinking I'm doing experiments on Leia?! D'OH! Back off!" He shooed Claire away before turning to the mermaid in the bathtub.

Pete looked at the three blankly. A mermaid… He must be dreaming.

"Thanks for the info Leia. I'm going back to my research." As Daryl turned to see Claire… "Make way!" And so, he left.

The siblings went to Leia. "So, Claire, you thought Daryl's hurting me? How ridiculous!" She giggled.

"Well, if I were Claire, I would've thought the same. Considering Daryl and also you, it might be possible. Though, I doubt he'll gonna harm you 'cos if he does, he's not gonna get any sushi anymore, no?" said Pete.

"You're right! So, you're Pete?" asked Leia.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, merlady," Pete took Leia's hand and kissed it.

"Such gentleman!" She blushed.

Claire slapped his head.

"Hey! What's that for?!" yelled Pete.

"I saw a mosquito there." Claire whispered afterwards. Suddenly, she felt a quick pain at her right ear. "Ouch!"

"There's a bug there. Wouldn't want it in your ear, would you?"

The two exchanged deadly glares while Leia laughed. "You're like an old couple!"

Claire flinched at Leia's statement. "Hmph! Who would want a nosy husband like him!"

Pete groaned. "And who would want a rash, loud wife like her!"

"Hahaha… Anyway, I'm touched that both of you care about me."

Claire turned to face the mermaid. "Don't mention it, Leia!"

"Yeah! If you ever need us, just call us!"


	10. Let's Name 'em!

**Chapter 9 – Let's Name 'em!**

Knock! Knock!

Pete opened the door to see Gotz standing there. "Vatz zup?" asked the guy who was brushing his teeth.

"The bird shed is finished, just like you asked."

"Zid you zoo it wight?" Pete asked as he eyed the woodcutter suspiciously.

"Of course I did it right. Don't you trust me?"

Pete went inside and Claire appeared, covered in towel and hair full of shampoo. "Nope. Remember the first thing we asked you to do? The material stone shed? We asked you to make it out of stone, but you used golden lumber. Then we asked you to build a pond right there, you made it next to the other pond. It sure cost a lot, ya know? And when we hired you to destroy the old maker shed, you tore down the old mushroom house. Last time, when we requested a silo made of stone, you used fodder. Like, seriously? Jeez…"

Claire went inside to wash her hair and Pete came with a few slices of bread stuffed in his mouth. "Zo, vhat bib you uze?" asked Pete.

"I used material stone, just like you asked."

"Bhats jood. Erz zhe bonyey. Fuh-venzy zhouzand jolt." He took out some cash.

"Yeah, twenty thousand gold. Thanks," said Gotz as he took his leave.

* * *

Knock! Knock!

No answer.

Knock! Knock!

No answer.

Knock! Knock!

Still no answer.

Bang! Bang!

Grr… Still no answer.

Clack! Pang!

"Oh my HG! Pete! Are you okay?!" screamed Claire.

"Oh… I'm fine, Claire." Pete laughed as he looked at his sister. Claire's concerned look immediately changed to that of a highly amused one. She tried to hold back her laughter. "What?"

"I'm so sorry. My sister can be so repulsive…" apologized a young man.

"What do you mean, Rick?!" asked a pink-haired maiden.

"You're too rude, Popuri. You shouldn't slap the door! Look at poor Pete's… fuhhhh-fuh-fuh-face… Ahahahahahahahaha!" The bespectacled boy rolled on the ground, dropping a small sack he was holding before.

Popuri looked entranced at first at the sight of Pete. A few moments later, she went into a laughing fit with her brother.

"WHAT?!" Pete turned to see Claire, but she was nowhere to be found. "Claire?!" As he shouted for her, she came immediately from her room with a mirror in her hands while holding back her laughter. She handed the mirror to Pete so that her brother could inspect his face. Upon seeing his face…

"Bwahahahahahahaha!" Claire could not contain her laughter anymore. Pete glared at her. "D-d-do-do-don't look at me! Hahahahahaha!"

"Claire! My nose!"

"S-s-stop it! D-d-don't look at me! I can't stop laughing! Hahaha!"

Pete looked at the mirror again. You gotta be kidding me. Along his nose bridge, from his forehead to his lips, there was a slap mark. An extremely obvious mark. That's nothing… compared to his nose… which was…

"…Bent by Popuri's slap! Hahahaha!" Rick rolled on the ground, holding his stomach. "J-j-just, how did you do it, Popuri?!"

* * *

"Well, we put 'em in the shed already. Don't forget to feed 'em. …Fuh-!" Rick covered his mouth to avoid laughing. He did not want to be force-fed the bird feed he brought again. Somehow, he pondered how chickens and ducks could enjoy those awfully-tasted things.

Popuri smiled cheekily. "You know, Pete, Claire, we think you're nice customers. If you need any help, feel free to call us."

"Sure thing, Poppy," said Claire.

"…Poppy?"

"Yeah. Popuri is too hard to say, so I just call you Poppy. Easy, isn't it?"

Pete who had his whole nose bridge bandaged in an appalling manner was too occupied with his nose that he did not notice his sister's shenanigan.

"Poppy is a terrible nickname!" yelled Popuri.

"Terrible? I think it sounds cute," said Claire nonchalantly.

"Which part of it sounds cute?! It sounds like puppy!"

"Puppy IS cute."

"But… puppy is small, not adult. I wanna be treated like an adult… Sniff…"

"How do you expect people to treat you like an adult if you cry over trivial things like this?!" scolded Claire and Rick, surprising Pete. Popuri cried. Both of them freaked out.

Pete went to the girl who caused him to be all miserable and patted her head. "There there, Popuri… Don't cry… You're adult enough for me. If not, how could you ruin my nose just now?" What an effective way to comfort a lady!

"You think so?" asked Popuri.

"Well… Yeah… We should stop with this nicknaming, Claire." Pete stepped on Claire's right foot.

"Yowww! I mean, yeah...!" Claire glared at Pete.

"Hey! Speaking of nickname, you forgot to name your chickens!" exclaimed Popuri.

"You're right, Popuri. So, what do you wanna call 'em?" asked Rick.

"Hmm… Coo?" suggested Pete.

"Coo sounds fine to me. The other one… I name it… Pinky!" exclaimed Claire. Everyone went 'eh?' at Claire's remark, even Popuri.


	11. Welcome to Summer

**Chapter 10 – Welcome to Summer**

"At last! My fridge is here!" cheered Claire who came out of her room.

"Yeah yeah! Now come here and lend me a helping hand! This thing is damn heavy!" yelled Pete. Claire went to help him immediately. "Phew! Now that we have a fridge, it's about time we order a larger kitchen so that you can cook something fancy and perhaps, enter the Cooking Competition."

Claire nodded. "Thanks to Gotz enlarging our house, we can fit this large thing in. I missed the last competition thanks to that incompetent kitchen…" She sighed.

"By the way, the weather's so hot. I'm feeling the urge to eat something ice cold in this summer heat," said Pete.

"May I suggest you something? In Mineral Town, there's a young man by the name Kai who is also known as The Summer Freak since he's only around in summer. I can understand if he stays at another place that has summer time during our winter time, but where does he go during spring and autumn? Anyone ever thought of that? Ha! Anyway, the Mineral Town men dislike Kai, so he comes here and opens his snack booth every summer. Although, he still comes to Mineral Town once in a while. I saw him selling something called shaved ice. Ha! Why don't you go there?" Thomas who popped out of the fridge blabbered about Kai.

Both Pete and Claire jolted as they saw the weird mayor. They looked at each other questioningly. "K-kai? Who's that?" asked Claire as she turned to see the mayor in red, but he disappeared.

"And… There he goes again… I think the fridge is heavy 'cos of him… He's pretty fat, you know…" stated Pete. "We better not use the fridge yet, Claire, or else, our food will smell like him and we'll be bald just like him."

Claire's eyes widened as she imagined herself being as bald as Thomas. She made a cross sign with her arms and shook her head several times.

"Hahaha… About this Kai person, I think he's the one who organized the All-You-Can-Eat thing yesterday," said Pete.

"Hmm hmm… You might be right. So, what're you gonna do today?" asked Claire.

"Carter told me yesterday that he needs me to smash another wall. I'm gonna explore it after smashing it."

Claire grabbed the red legendary sword Pete found deep within the mine and handed it to him. "You must really need this. Those creatures in the mine are just so annoying and with this, you can deal with 'em easily, don't you?"

The brown-haired rancher took the sword. "Yeah… Haha…" He briefly remembered the black chick they ate before. Last week, he had Nina cook a black duck for him. Claire commented on its good taste despite its hideous appearance. "What about you?"

"As usual. Crops, livestock, fish."

"Okay then." Both of them departed.

* * *

After working on the ranch for a few hours, Claire decided to take a breather. She felt extraordinarily exhausted today considering that it's summer. The rancher strode to Daryl's to see Leia the mermaid. They had been getting along well due to their personalities being almost the same. After engaging a conversation with Leia, Claire took her leave. She went to see the firework twins.

"Hey Kassey! Hey Patrick!" greeted Claire.

"Hey there, Claire," said Patrick who was busy making fireworks.

"Watcha up to?"

"Preparin' for the festival."

"I see…" Claire wanted to pick up a firework to inspect it, but Kassey snatched it from her.

"Don't touch anythin'!" yelled the grumpy old man.

"Oh! Sorry!"

Kassey went back to his work. "There's nothing for you to see."

With that said, Claire left. She went to the beach to fish. Suddenly, she was called to the snack booth by the tanned summer boy, Kai. He asked Claire if she wanted to eat something, so she nodded in agreement. She DID want to eat something.

"Here ya go, an ice cold shaved ice." Kai grinned as he handed the mouth-watering treat to Claire. "It's on the house. Help yourself."

"Thanks a bunch!" Claire had a bit of it. "It's amazing! It feels like it's winter in my mouth!"

"Ha! I can't believe a summer freak like me will give you the chill of winter!" He continued to watch the blonde devour the shaved ice. "Umm… Miss, do you mind if I just call you by your name, Claire?"

She raised her head. "Sure, why not? It's not like I enjoy being called Miss Claire. Hahaha!"

Kai smiled and thanked the sweet lady in front of him. He secretly wished that he could be closer to her…


	12. Underground Lady and Shipping Bin Lady

**Chapter 11 – Underground Lady and Shipping Bin Lady**

Pete did not notice how time flew and how deep he went. The only reason for that was excitement. He just could not believe it that, in a single trip, he managed to collect two sets of cursed tools, a cursed fishing rod, a cursed axe, seven spring suns, 12 summer suns, four autumn suns, three winter suns, eight mythic stones and two lithographs. He also enjoyed killing those annoying black creatures. As he descended to a new floor, he stumbled upon a huge rock near the wall. He hit it with his hammer, hoping to see what was there behind the rock, but it was vain. As he tried to use his sword, his bottom ached. He turned to see a big black sheep biting him. Immediately, Pete unsheathed his sword and slaughtered the beast. At that moment, Pete began to see himself as the reincarnation of Miyamoto Musashi.

At the sight of more creatures coming for his feet, Pete leapt to the centre of the floor rashly, almost stepping into a hole. He fended of every 'animals'. At last, he killed all of them. As he wiped off the dust from his overall, he was ambushed by a leftover black butterfly that managed to escape his onslaught. As he startled, he dropped his sword and his rucksack on the ground while his feet somehow landed on air. He painted a goofy grin on his face as he looked at the darkness below while swearing at the cursed insect for his bad luck.

Pete went 'AIYAAA!' as he fell several floors down. He landed on a fluffy floor, to which he was grateful. As he inspected the fluffy floor, his left hand came into contact with a piece of cloth. He pulled that thing to discover a Cursed Kappa Hat.

"JUST WHAT I NEED! YEAH!" He cheered happily. Since the floor was quite dark, he could not see clearly where he was heading. He crawled on the floor while his hand continuously hitting the floor to find a hole. After all, all of his tools were left up there. Wait… Pete needed to go UP, not DOWN! So, he got up and ran towards the place where he landed. His feet caught something on the ground and he tripped. He pulled his right foot out, along with three pendants and a ring. They were knotted. He's got no time to investigate it, so he stuffed it in his pocket. He continued walking carefully until he reached a quite high place which he assumed the staircase. As he climbed the stairs, he felt as if the ground was moving.

"Bekkkkk!"

Pete felt chills down his spine. The moving ground suddenly hit the wall, causing some rocks to fall down, so more light entered the floor. Much to Pete's astonishment, he was sitting on the head of a giant black sheep. The sheep started to toss about so that Pete would fall, but he held tight to the sheep's wool. It started running around the room in an attempt to drop Pete and in the end, the wool Pete had been gripping was pulled off the sheep's skin and he fell… right in the next hole… straight to the last floor. He then passed out.

Meanwhile, Claire tossed her basket of onions into the shipping bin as her horse, Koko, was being VERY useful… The horse wandered around the valley and every time she tried to get it home, it would kick her. Once, the horse kicked Claire right into the goddess pond. After Claire shipped her goods, a Harvest Sprite in green appeared from the shipping bin.

"I'm back?! Yay! Thanks Claire! Cady of the Green Team, at your service!" exclaimed the sprite. "I'll help you however I can!" He vanished.

Suddenly, the shipping bin shook wildly as if there was a lion in there chasing a sneaky little mousedeer. The shaking stopped. Then, something hit the top of the bin and whined in pain before a light hand appeared from inside. Claire backed off as her face turned snow white. She got her hands on her axe in case the hand tried to grab her. She waited like forever for the owner of the hand to come out, so she decided to chop it.

"Wait! Don't chop!"

Claire stopped on her track. "Who's there?!"

"Can you help me out? I'm stuck…"

She dropped her axe and started looking everywhere. "Where are you?" She walked around to find the source of the mystifying voice.

"I'm right here…"

"Here?" She walked towards the shipping bin, eyes still moving around the house to locate the damsel in distress, and stepped on the hand without even noticing it.

"Ouch! That hurts, you lazy kid!"

Claire startled. "I'm not lazy!" She hit the roof of the shipping bin.

"Don't hit my head, you lazy brat!" yelled the voice.

"What the…?! Why are you calling me like that?!" Claire stomped her feet several times in anger. "I'm working, can't you see?! I'm not lazy!"

The owner of the hand was so damn pissed off, so she went out of the shipping bin to yell at Claire. "Stop stepping on my hand!" The tall lady, hovering mid-air, long braided green hair and goddess-like outfit glared at Claire while her arms crossed across her chest. She then showed her hand which was stepped by the farmer. "Look at my hand! All swollen! I'm gonna be a laughing stock!"

"Well, sorry! It's not my fault that you can't give perfect direction, you GPS-lady!"

"Can't give perfect direction…? GPS-lady…? Oooooh…! I can't stand such insult, you insolent kid! It's because of you I ended up in the other world!" yelled the lady.

"In the other world? Are you kidding me? The shipping bin? Hah! You really have no sense of direction!" Claire laughed.

"You…! Ahah! Speaking of shipping bin…" The strange lady went into the bin and held out her swollen hand. "Can you help me out?" She asked softly.

Claire was like… 'Are you a no-brainer…?' Nevertheless, she still helped her out.

"Dum-da-da-DAA! I'm the Harvest Goddess! Thank you for saving me from the other world! To tell you the truth, I actually loved being there. No need to listen to Harvest King's blabbering, the Harvest Sprites' whining, Witch's laughing… and most importantly… Harvest King's bald head. I didn't need to see it! Ha! Well, the past is in the past. I'll have to get back to work. Toodles!" She vanished, leaving Claire dumbfounded.

Now… Who's gonna pay for the onions that Harvest Goddess ate?

* * *

Pete woke up. His body ached as he got onto his feet. He was surrounded by rocks and because of that, no animals could get to him. Whew… He rested for a while before digging the ground with his hands to find some herbs. As he managed to recuperate a little bit, he headed upstairs immediately. He did not want to spend too much time in this large room, which he recognized as the last floor. He quickly made his way up, stopping every now and then to recuperate. Lady Luck might have her eyes on her as he always found himself surrounded by rocks, so he was not assaulted. Finally, he reached the floor where he left his tools there. Pete quickly dumped the accessories he found into his rucksack before taking his sword and reduced the black butterfly that pushed him into two miserable pieces. As soon as he killed it, the huge rock at the wall collapsed to reveal an entrance.

The curious guy walked through the entrance only to be met by a bed. He was bewildered. Approaching the bed with caution, he was surprised by a beautiful woman waking up from her sleep on her bed in a room underground, alone. She looked blankly into the empty space for a while, no emotion could be read from her face. Then, she turned to see Pete. He was taken aback by her sudden smile before she pointed towards a signpost next to her bed.

'I'm quite hungry. Bring me an Ultimate Curry or a Finest Curry.'

After Pete read it, the woman lied again and dozed off. He thought she might be lonely, so he woke her up.

"…" She wrote something. 'What is it do you want…?'

"I'm Pete. You are…?"

'Keira.'

"Hi, Keira. What are you doing all alone down here?" Pete asked softly.

'I don't know. I'm sleepy… Goodnight…' She went back to sleep.

"Wait!" Pete did not want to annoy her, so he took out a summer sun from his rucksack. "I'm sure you must be lonely, so I promise to come back for you, every day. No matter what the odds, I'll be here. This is for you, a sign of promise. I'll see you again, tomorrow." With that said, Pete placed the sun in Keira's right palm before he left.

Little did he know that Keira opened her eyes to look at the sun and carved the most beautiful smile one could ever imagine before sleeping again…


	13. One Summer Night

**Chapter 12 – One Summer Night**

Pete walked into Blue Bar. When he opened the door, Muffy was about to leave for her usual walk with a troubled look on her face, but upon seeing him, she smiled and pulled him into the bar.

"Griffin! I know! Pete can help us!" She exclaimed.

"Help with what…?" He thought for a while. "You wanna experiment some new beverages?"

Griffin came out of the back room. "No, Pete." He brought along with him a piece of paper. "See this paper? It's from Phantom Skye."

Pete had the feeling that he heard of that name before. He tried to recall when. At last, he remembered that Claire mentioned about the thief once when she was looking for a Harvest Sprite near Romana's mansion. "What's up with him?"

"He said he's coming here to get our drinks…"

"He's not getting his hands on our drinks for free! We'll make him pay!" yelled Muffy.

"That's not what I mean…" said Griffin.

"I know… Heehee…" Muffy giggled. "So, Pete, care to help us?" asked Muffy.

Deep in Pete's heart, he did not want to meddle in Claire's problem, but since he already got involved in Griffin's mess, he had no choice. Perhaps, he could get something out of the thief. "Sure. Count me in."

"Thanks a bunch, buddy," said Griffin.

"We'll wait for you here between 10-12. Be sure to come!" stated Muffy.

* * *

Claire screamed in excitement when she heard from her brother that Skye would come. Dropping her watering can, spilling all of the water onto a single pineapple plant, she joyfully went into her house to change her cloth. Pete was dumbfounded for a while with his sister's behaviour. He did not care much if she had a crush on Skye, but he needed to make sure the phantom could handle her since she had this principle. If she couldn't have him, nobody else could have him. He sighed as he saw his yandere sister left the house wearing her new black overall.

"I hope she will change…"

* * *

Pete entered the Blue Bar at 10.10 pm. Griffin and Muffy were already there waiting patiently for the hero of the bar to come. They chatted for a while. Out of the blue, Griffin and Muffy sniffed something delicious. The elderly man identified it as curry, so both of them, attracted by its aroma, left Pete all alone in the bar.

The young man was about to tail after them when a silver-haired man entered the bar. The green-eyed man eyed Pete suspiciously.

"Why are you still here?" asked the intruder.

"Are you Phantom Skye?"

He smirked. "What if I am?" Skye retaliated with another question.

"What are you gonna do now that I'm here?" Pete challenged the thief.

"Heh… Of course I'm gonna finish my job," answered the thief.

Pete then smirked. "You lose, phantom."

"What?"

"Do you realize?"

"Realize what?"

"Do you realize that we've been answering questions with questions?"

Skye looked puzzled for a moment, but when he got it, he put on his charming smile. "Heh, is that so?"

"Don't you think so?"

"Then, why did you say I lose?"

"You answered my question," said Pete confidently.

"Now you lose…"

Both of them stood there, quiet… Then both of them laughed. Pete patted Skye's shoulder as if he was his old friend. "You're quite good!"

"And you're not so bad either," said Skye. "So… whatcha gonna do now?"

"Catch you…"

"Hahaha…" Skye spontaneously walked to the back of the counter and rummaged the shelf. "…Let's see…"

Pete felt as if Skye was ignoring his existence. "…You…!"

The so-called prince of stars suddenly threw a large bottle of liquor to Pete. The farmer had no choice but to catch it. Then, another few bottles were flung towards him. He tried to catch them, but one of them slipped of his hands. He used his left foot to hurl it upwards. In the end, he juggled the bottles and could not move to catch Skye. The satisfied thief grinned before getting his hands on another bottle of drink.

"…That's funny. I swear the smell comes from here…"

"…Me too…"

"…Let's go back to the bar…"

As Skye heard the voices of Griffin and Muffy, he hurried to the exit. "Well then, see you again, skilled juggler." He left.

A few moments later, the two bartenders returned. They were in awe to see Pete juggling their bottles of beverages. When inquired about what had happened, Pete could only say that Phantom Skye knew how to handle with unexpected situations. Muffy went to check the shelf after Pete informed that Skye took a bottle away.

"The Okuhattan is missing!" exclaimed Muffy.

"That's too bad…" said Griffin as he placed all the bottles that Pete juggled onto the counter.

"Sorry I couldn't help you two," said Pete, guilty. After all, he did play with Skye for a short while.

"Nah… Don't mention it. It's just a bottle of drink. Not that bad…" said Griffin.

"Griffin… Ha! Well then, let's just let it go! Tomorrow's another day of work! Though I wonder how the thief is… Anyway, good night Pete!"

* * *

"A toast to my coming-of-age ceremony… This Okuhattan sure is a fine liquor. If I were to put it in my curry, will it be the best curry in the world…?" Skye mumbled to himself as he sat at the edge of the Goddess Pond. He sighed. "I wonder if she's back…" He took out a strawberry he stole from Claire's farm during spring and threw it into the pond.

"Dum-da-da-DAA! Thanks for the offeri…! You…!" Harvest Goddess' sweet face turned into a derogatory one. "I bet this is another stolen one!" She held the strawberry up.

"Oh… You're back… How's vacation?" asked Skye.

"Vacation? Oh! I find the shipping bin a lot better place than this pond. Claire's been shipping so many strawberries in spring, so I got to eat my favourite food every day. But, summer's been tough… She fed me onions… Can you imagine that? I had to bathe in the sprites' bath for three whole days! If I bathed here, nobody will come to this place ever again…" Harvest Goddess blabbered.

"So… You should be grateful for the strawberry I gave you…"

"Yeah… Wait…! Why should I?! If Harvest King knows I gave you the Chick Beam in exchange for all those stolen strawberries, I would be sent to another vacation! I hate stolen strawberries!" She yelled with her eyes filled with strawberries.

"Haha… Don't let such raw anger spoil your beauty, goddess," said Skye.

"Hmph! You're lucky that you're charming. If not, I would have given you to Witch. Maybe she can make a good potion out of you." She placed her arms across her chest.

"Witch Princess? Oh… She won't do it, ever. I've been giving her curry once a week. If she eats me, she won't get her curry anymore."

"Who says something about Witch eating you? …Huh…? You've been bribing her?! You're gonna get it from me! Take this!" Harvest Goddess threw a huge heap of weeds towards Skye, but it suddenly caught fire.

Witch Princess' voice spoke, "I can't let you harm him." It seemed that she spoke via magic as she was not physically present.

Harvest Goddess looked pissed off. "What spell did she cast on you? Ughhh…! I'm heading back!" She left with the stolen strawberry.

Shush! Shush!

Skye turned around to see a blonde coming out of the bushes. "Hmm… What's a fair maiden like you doing out here this late? It's not good for your skin…"

"You can see the goddess?"

"You too? Who are you? Wait… You're there at the mansion, right?"

She nodded. "I'm Claire." She saw the bottle in Skye's hand. "The Okuhattan… You stole it from the bar?"

"Hehe… I'm a thief, after all. It's nothing to be surprised at. After all, it won't hurt to have a little celebration on our coming-of-age day, isn't it? Wanna join me?"

Claire blushed slightly. Summer 10th… 'I won't ever forget this date…'


	14. Birthday Fiasco

**Chapter 13 – Birthday Fiasco**

'Summer 26th

'twas a great day. I was a little upset yesterday 'cos I didn't get to see the Fireworks Festival. I went to accompany Keira half the day after mining. It was worthy though since she starts to warm up to me now. Maybe it's that curry? I think so. Claire had a hard time to persuade Phantom Skye to teach us how to cook an Ultimate Curry and we had a hard time to learn it. He didn't demand much payment, just some veggies and curry powder. I made a curry specially for Keira and she liked it. I'm glad she's happy. Well, enough blabbering. Back to the topic.

Today was such a red-letter day. Claire, despite being busier than bees, managed to find some time to celebrate my birthday. The party was splendid… Or so… I think…'

* * *

_Pete dragged his feet to the waterfall. After filling his mythic watering can up, he drank the water. He's so damn thirsty. It occurred to him on how Keira could live deep within the mine with neither food nor water. Is she even a human? After he recovered some stamina, he got up and made his way to his newly-expanded house._

_As he entered the house…_

_ "__SURPRISE!"_

_Pete was 'ambushed' right at his front door. He looked around to see the house decorated with party stuff.  
_

_On the table, there was a huge blueberry cake with two large candles and four small candles. He spotted some familiar faces in the house other than his dear sister, Claire. To the most right was a brunet woman who had her hair tied in a ponytail. Standing at Claire's right side was a brown-haired woman who donned a bandanna while a blond-haired man stood next to her. He sported a cap. Other than those four standing people, Pete spotted some villagers behind them. Thomas, Ann and Cliff from Mineral Town, Marlin, Celia, Vesta, Carter, Flora, Ruby, Nami, Hardy, Galen and Nina. Somehow, Cody, Wally, Chris and Hugh were there too._

_ "__HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!"_

_Claire brought the cake to Pete so that he could blow the flame out. Unfortunately, he blew it too strong that the cream flew and stuck on Claire's face. Claire, exasperated, placed the cake gently on the table before wiping off the cream._

_ "__You're lucky it's your birthday today, Pete," said Claire crossly._

_ "__You've gotten too healthy, Pete! Looks like our weekly jog worth it!" exclaimed Wally._

_ "__Pete! Dad! Next time, take me to jog with you too!" cried Hugh._

_Chris patted Hugh's head. "Not yet, Hugh. You still need to practise more before you can run with them."_

_ "__But… Mom!"_

_ "__They're gonna leave you behind with your speed and stamina right now. Be a good boy and listen to me, okay?"_

_Hugh pouted. "Okay…"_

_ "__That's my boy."_

_Cody went to Pete. "Hey there, buddy."_

_ "__Cody! Didn't expect to see you here," said Pete._

_The large, muscular man took out something from his sack. "You always give me ores, so I thought maybe I should make something for you…"_

_Pete took it. "A seagull sculpture…"_

_ "__Yeah…"_

_ "__Thanks a bunch, buddy!" Pete grinned._

_ "__This is for you, Pete." Wally handed a dumbbell to him while Chris presented him a new overall. "Well, we'll get going now. We're extra tired today. Let's go, Hugh." The family left._

_ "__I'm quite busy too, Pete…" Cody also left._

_The three people who were with Claire approached him. The brunet-haired woman had her right arm across Pete's shoulder and took off Pete's cap while the other male ruffled his hair. The other lady only giggled._

_ "__My man, Pete! You're a grown up now!" exclaimed the blonde._

_ "__So do you, Mark! Hey there Jill! Still as tomboyish as ever! And you, Chelsea, you're still cute, just like the last time I saw you."_

_ "__Now now, Pete, will you take back the tomboyish part? Don't make me look bad in front of them!" Jill playfully pulled Pete's ear._

_ "__Jill, don't rip off Pete's ear!" scolded Chelsea. "We came all the way from Sunshine Island to celebrate his birthday, not to attend his funeral."_

_Everyone shrugged. "Umm… Chelsea sweetie, don't you think that's a little dark joke?" asked Mark._

_ "__Really? I thought it's just fine. Besides, if Jill does rip off Pete's ear, don't you think he'll bleed to death?"_

_Both Jill and Pete crossed their arms and shook their heads several times. "Chelsea's right. I left my ranch in Mineral Town today just to see you getting old, Pete. Hahaha!"_

_They laughed._

_ "__Aww… Look at the sweet couple, Galen," commented Nina who was sitting on a cosy sofa next to Galen._

_ "__Ha! I wonder if they'll last as long as us," said Galen._

_ "__They will. I know, they will. Claire told me that Mark's tough to woo, so when that boy asked for Chelsea's hand in marriage, I know it's true."_

_The old man glanced at Nina. "You're right. After all, we experienced it, right?"_

_ "__So now, let's party!" declared Claire._

_Celia served her stir fry to Pete and the other guests, while Vesta bragged about her vegetables being the best. Jill could not tolerate the fat woman, so she took the gift she brought for Pete and ripped the wrapper. She opened the large box to reveal lots of pineapples in it. Roughly, she grabbed one and went to the kitchen. Without permission, she cooked a pineapple pudding and served it in front of Pete._

_ "__My pineapples are the best one you'll ever find!" stated Jill as she looked at Vesta at the corner of her eye._

_ "__If yours are truly the best, how come you only place second in the Farmer Fair for that category?" Vesta barked._

_ "__Hmph! I'm showing you some mercy…"_

_ "__Actually, ours are the best. Chels…" Mark motioned his wife to take out there newly-harvested corns._

_ "__We'll show you… that… the best corn separates life and death…" Chelsea said with a straight face._

_ "…__Eh?" Everyone went 'toing!'…_

_ "__Even if you fall down the mine by 1000 floors, even if you are ambushed by a horde of dark cows, even if both your ears are ripped off, even if you are bleeding to death, have faith in our corns 'cos our corns will relive you!" Mark's wife remarked passionately._

_Everyone gaped._

_ "__Let's show them hell!" She screamed with such fiery tone and eyes._

_The couple went to the kitchen and started cooking ferociously. The kitchen was a mess by the time they finished cooking. They then served an unusual dish to Pete._

_ "__During our trip coming here, we came across this dish. It's called corn porridge. We modified the recipe to make it fancier. Have a taste." Mark fed Pete._

_Flora got up. "This can't be. I have to cook for Pete too."_

_Carter and Hardy freaked out. "I-I-I-I think you better not, right, Claire?"_

_ "__Why not, Carter?" questioned Claire._

_Hardy recalled the curry rice Flora gave him to thank him for helping Carter. It was the nastiest dish he ever had. It tasted even worse than the medicine that caused Jill to pass out in Mineral Town hospital when the doctor gave her before._

_ "__See, Claire agrees." Flora started rummaging the fridge and got her hands on some rice balls, curry powder and vegetables._

_Carter and Hardy knelt in front of Ruby. "Ruby, please, we beg you! Save our lives!" They cried._

_ "__Oh dear… Is it that bad?" asked Ruby._

_ "__THAT BAD!"_

_ "__But, what should I do?"_

_Nami got an idea. "Maybe you can save the day with your spices!"_

_ "__Good thinking!" Ruby and Nami went to Flora._

_ "__THANK YOU RUBY AND NAMI! HARVEST GODDESS BLESS YOU!"_

_ "__We'll see whose crops are the best by looking at… COOKINGS!" yelled Vesta. "Celia, bring the stir fry!"_

_ "…__Umm… Aunt Vesta… I can't find them…" Celia looked worried. "Marlin, have you seen them?"_

_Marlin who was sitting while sipping his wine pointed behind her. Celia froze in astonishment._

_It was Ann, sitting on the floor with a stack of plates next to her. "Next!"_

_ "__Coming up! Corn porridge!" Thomas brought the porridge to Ann._

_With the speed of sound, all of the porridge went into her stomach._

_ "__Next!"_

_ "__The only one left, is this cake!"_

_As Thomas tried to lift the cake, five hands smacked his bald head. "DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THE CAKE!" He fell down and cried like a child upon the five farmers' scolding._

_ "__Err… Ann, you ate all the food…" said Cliff._

_ "__Not all, Cliff. See, Flora's cooking some curry rice." She pointed towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna… eat… Cliff!"_

_Cliff was already at the counter. "Curry rice please!"_

_ "__Coming, right up!" answered Ruby. She gave a plate of curry rice to Nami and asked her to serve it._

_ "__Here ya go, Cliff. That would be 250 gold," said Nami._

_ "…__Eh?" Cliff was dumbfounded._

_ "__I'm just kidding!"_

_ "__Oh… Hahaha!" Cliff spooned his favourite food and ate it. Upon swallowing it, he dropped the spoon and himself on the floor. He writhed in agony._

_ "__CLIFF!" Ann, Nami and Ruby freaked out._

_Hardy went to diagnose him. "This is horrible! He had food poi-!"_

_A turnip flew into Hardy's mouth. Carter rushed to help him. At the spot where Thomas was sulking, Claire, Jill, Mark, Chelsea and Vesta were still fighting over the best crops. Vegetables and fruits were flying all over the place. A red top hat decorated the blueberry cake after a coconut from Sunshine Island took its place on Thomas' head. The mayor, unconscious, was now flailed around as they were bragging about their strengths. According to Vesta, the strongest one grows the best crops._

_ "__Ruby! What's happening?!" Flora yelled._

_ "__What?!"_

_The pot exploded and Flora, Ruby, Nami, Ann, Hardy and Carter were covered in curry. Ann licked some curry that was on her face and… "Blehhh! What is THAT?!"_

_ "__Oh dear… Did my spice ruin it?" asked Ruby._

_ "__I'm sure adding some red grass is a good idea," said Flora._

_Meanwhile, Hardy was finally free from the turnip, but he now got a cabbage in his mouth._

_Ann and Nami shrugged. Ann ate it from her face while Nami became the taster earlier._

_Pete and Marlin, who stayed out of trouble were about to eat their slices of cake when some tomatoes hit them. Jill suddenly appeared and stamped their faces with their food._

_ "__See? Courage is the essence of a good crop!" remarked Jill._

_Pete took the leftover cream from his plate, got up and pasted it on Jill's face. Claire then took the whole cake and smashed it onto Mark's head. She then pushed him towards Chelsea, so the wife was also stained. Mark, irritated, threw the cream sticking on him towards Claire, but she dodged it and it hit Vesta instead. They started throwing cream all over the place._

_Marlin whose face was cleaned sat back and sipped his wine when a small drop of cream landed into his liquor. A red top hat also landed on his head. Celia who froze from astonishment was still frozen, while Thomas who just woke up lost his consciousness again when Vesta slipped on some cream and fell onto him. Cliff, Ann and Nami were writhing rhythmically. Hardy got another turnip in his mouth and Carter tried to pull it out. Ruby and Flora fell into a state of depression._

_Phantom Skye was about to enter through the front door when the door opened and a body was flung to him. The body landed on him, so the others did not see him. It was Mark, who was thrown by Pete and Claire. Mark got up and entered the house, shutting the door behind him. Skye got up. Sighing, he left as the party seemed too much for him. He could not possibly give a present to Pete like this._

_Amidst the noise, suddenly, the ground trembled. A hole was formed in the middle of the living room and a head popped out of the hole._

_ "__Ke-Ke-Keira!"_

_The woman looked blankly at Pete before showing her board to him. 'Happy Birthday!' She handed a blessed Witch Princess Earrings to him before leaving._

_ "__What was that?!" yelled the guests frantically._

_ "__Err…" Pete looked at Claire and Claire looked at Pete._

_ "__Dum-da-da-DAA! I'll bestow upon you one wish for your birthday, Pete!" Harvest Goddess appeared suddenly._

_ "__Make them forget about Keira!" shouted Pete and Claire._

_ "__Ok! Your wish is my command!" The surrounding glowed for a moment. "Toodles!"_

_Phew…_

_ "__What's with that big hole?!" asked Vesta._

_ "__Who cares?! It's enough to fit you in!" Jill kicked her into the hole. Luckily, thanks to the goddess magic, the path leading to Keira's vanished._

_They continued partying._

_ "__Aren't they romantic, Galen?" asked Nina whose ladybug hat turned completely red with a small green star on top of it._

_Galen laughed. "Yeah…"_

* * *

'The party turned into a total disaster. Jill forced Mark, Chelsea, Claire and I to pull Vesta out. Marlin had to carry Celia back home. Hardy could not shut his mouth for the rest of the day, literally. Carter had a backache from trying to pull out vegetables from Hardy's mouth. Thomas was traumatized while Ann, Cliff and Nami suffered from food poisoning. The six had to spend their nights at Mineral Town hospital. Ruby slept in the bath to clean herself from the exploded curry while Flora slept in the waterfall. Claire and I along with Mark, Chelsea and Jill spent the whole night cleaning the house. I also sent for Gotz that moment to have him repair our floor.'

"Hey Pete!"

Pete was startled to see Venus appeared in front of him. "What?"

"I got you a new pot."

He went to the kitchen to see a new shiny pot there. "Thanks, Venus!"

"No problem. It's on the house!"

"Many thanks! By the way, what happened to the old one?"

Venus grinned. "It's yummy!"

* * *

an: With this chapter concluded, I've introduced every characters available, directly and indirectly, though Barney and Mimi aren't here yet. Or did I miss out anyone? So, I'm now thinking of taking requests for about 3-6 chapters before I continue in winter.^^v


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